The present invention relates to a new and improved method of, and apparatus for, transferring products, typically printed products, to the infeed paths or lines of at least two processing stations, the printed products arriving in at least one continuous product stream.
In its more specific aspects the present invention relates to a new and improved method for transferring printed products arriving in at least one continuous product stream, especially in an imbricated or shingled product stream, to the infeed paths or lines of at least two processing stations or the like.
As indicated previously, there is also contemplated an apparatus for transferring products, particularly printed products arriving in at least one continuous product stream, especially in an imbricated or shingled printed product stream, to the infeed paths or lines of at least two processing stations or the like. There is provided at least one conveyor device or conveyor for the infeed of the products.
In the context of this disclosure the expression "processing station" or equivalent terminology, is intended to encompass, in each case, a piece of equipment or machine which further processes typically, for instance, printed products continuously arriving by means of a conveyor or conveyor device from a printing press. As to such product processing operation which may be undertaken, such can, for instance, constitute combining or collating the continuously arriving printed products with other printed products so as to form a finished or final product, or inserting or stuffing an insert or the like into each of the printed products. Other processing operations which are possible at each such processing station are, for instance, stacking the printed products, packaging the printed products, tying and/or strapping the printed products, applying addresses to the printed products or cutting the same to a desired format or size. These further processing operations can either be accomplished during throughpass of the products, in other words can be undertaken continuously, such as for instance the operation of stuffing inserts into the printed products, or can be undertaken discontinuously or batch-wise, for instance during the packaging of the printed products. When keeping these various possibilities of operation of the processing stations in mind, it will be apparent that the operational mode of the product infeed paths or lines which are arranged upstream or forwardly of such processing stations can be continuous or discontinuous as the encountered situation and desired operations dictate. Frequently the capacity of such a processing station is not compatible or equal to that of the printing press or that of a conveyor which follows the printing press and/or there exists the desire to have part of the production undergo a certain further processing operation and a further part of the same production to experience a quite different further processing operation. In both situations it is therefore necessary to subdivide or selectively distribute the continuously arriving product stream or production of products.
Proposals have already been advanced in this technology to attain this product production subdivision in that there are incorporated switches into the conveyors or conveyor systems, the branches of which each then lead to a respective processing station or to an infeed path or line which is arranged upstream of such processing station. However, this requires that the momentarily supplied processing station must be capable of further processing, during a delivery interval or period of time, the arriving printed products. However, as already explained, frequently the take-up capacity of the processing stations is dependent upon the nature of the further processing operations which are to be accomplished, and therefore possibly may not be compatible with the output or delivery capacity of the conveyor device or system.
Also proposals have already been made to obtain the product subdivision or splitting-up of the products in that the conveyor system delivers, for instance, only each second printed product to the one infeed path or line and the remaining ones to the other infeed paths or lines. Also this solution is not completely satisfactory since it presupposes that the conveyor or conveyor system which infeeds the arriving product stream is a specially constructed individual conveyor. Moreover, at the processing stations operating in a batch-wise or discontinuous mode there must be additionally provided a dam-up or buffer region or area, so that there can be taken up the printed products which are delivered during the interpauses or intervals between two work cycles.